


Escape

by SoraJinsei



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confused Castiel (Supernatural), Demons, Games, Happy Ending, M/M, Suspense, Thriller, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25450654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraJinsei/pseuds/SoraJinsei
Summary: It's a stupid gaming app on your phone! You're not thinking it'll be anything as you play. Decide to delete days later as it becomes 'uninteresting' but then the character reaches out to Castiel, begging him to save them!
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this set as Mature and Graphic Depictions of Violence just as a Precaution.

**_Welcome!_** ** _  
_****_This game is not timed, it’s all about strategy._** ** _  
_****_Escape the Maze!_** ** _  
_****_But be careful, you only have two lives. Then it’s game over :D_** ** _  
_****_  
_****_Your game will start shortly after you complete the login._** ** _  
_****_  
_****_Email: ******@gmail.com_** **_  
_****_Password: ************_** ** _  
_****_  
_****_*Enter*_** ** _  
_****_  
_****_Very Good! Now, would you like to start a new game with a fresh character or a used one?_** ** _  
_****_  
_****_*Clicks*_** ** _  
_****_  
_****_Used - Very Good!_**

  
**_One Moment while we randomly select your character_ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** **_. . ._ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** **_You’re in luck!_ ** **_  
_ ** **_Please meet Character 0408_ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** **_Would you like to rename this character? Yes or No?_ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** **_*Clicks*_ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** **_Ok, keep characters original name 0408_ ** **_  
_ ** **_Wait one moment as we load the character’s last save point._ ** **_  
_ ** ****_  
_ **_The game will start in 3….2….1_ ** **_  
_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are You Ready?


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel stared at the black screen.  
  
He loves strategy games but this seemed vague.   
  
The screen changed to a small room, a pixelated figure standing in the middle.   
  
  
**_0408’s is injured, would you like him to cure himself?  
  
  
_ ** Easy enough, he hit the yes button.  
  
  
 **_Character does not have anything to heal, would you like them to look around?_ **   
  
  
‘The hell?’ Castiel thought, looking around the tiny room in which his character stood.   
  
“Castiel,” the voice catching the man off guard. He blinked up to find his brother Michael glaring at him.   
  
“Uh, sorry,” He apologized, glancing back at his phone before pocketing it. He grabbed the box before him to help bring it to the front of the store.   
  
“Save the games for when you go on break or after work,” Michael commented, propping the door open for Castiel to get through.   
  
Castiel didn’t have much to say, he didn’t mean to get caught playing this new game.   
  
“You have a customer by the way,” his brother called out before disappearing into the kitchen. Glancing over his shoulder as he placed the box on the ground, he saw a tall, solemn-looking man.   
  
“Sorry about the wait, how can I help you?”   
  
\-   
  
**_  
0408’s health is at 13%_ **   
  
  
‘What the hell?’   
  
The notification flashed on his lock screen, reminding him that he was in the middle of the game some hours ago.   
  
He was sitting in his car, he was just about to start the engine when the vibration alerted him.   
  
Unlocking the screen he found that the game was still open. The little blobby character was moving up and down slowly, the health bar in the red.   
  


**_Have 0408 search for medicine?_ **   
  
  
Castiel clicked yes, watching the character shuffle around his small space.   
  


**_0408 found medicine. Do you want them to drink it?_ ** **_  
_** **_  
  
_** Raising a brow at the question, he clicked yes.   
  
  
**_0408’s injuries have been healed. They are now hungry, do you want them to look for food?_ ** **_  
_**   
  
‘This thing was acting like a Tamagotchi’ Castiel thought to himself as he clicked yes. Because why not? What sicko wouldn’t feed their character?   
  
  
**_0408 found food and ate it._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_What would you like to do?_ **

**_-enter the maze_ **

**_-rest_ **

**_-look for a weapon_ **

**_-scavenge for food  
  
  
_ ** Glancing down the small list of options, Castiel glanced at the clock on his dash, 9:54 pm.   
  
He pressed “Rest” before locking his phone and starting the car. He’ll play more tomorrow. So far, it really didn’t grab his attention. He was starting to understand why it had a 1 out of 5 star review.

  
-  
  
  
 ** _0408 is awake, what would you like to do?_** ** _  
_**  
  
He was glad he had a day off from his college classes and job to focus more on this game.  
  
Castiel read on different sites that morning about how the odds of winning weren’t fair. The characters were stupid and wouldn’t listen. There were pages of other reviews but none of them mentioned anything about anyone winning.  
  
A beep brought his attention back to the game as the character waited for what to do next.  
  
He pressed 'Scavenge for Food'  
  
  
 ** _0408 is searching. . .  
  
_** **. . .  
**  
 ** _Your character found crackers  
  
  
_** ‘Well that’s uneventful,’ Castiel thought to himself, clicking the same button several more times. Water, Medicinal plants, and other food items.  
  
He looked at the health bar to see it was maxed out in the green, so there was nothing else to do at the moment.  
  
Looking around the screen, he noticed a space to the right wasn’t outlined in brown. Castiel has played plenty of old school games to know that it’s an entranceway.  
  
He tapped it which caused a window to pop up.

**_Enter the Maze?_**  
 ** _Yes or No_**  
  
  
‘A maze?’ clicking the yes, another window showed up.  
  
  
 ** _Your character has no weapon, is that ok?  
_** ** _Yes or No  
  
  
_** “This must be some kind of kill the minotaur in order to escape,” he mumbled to himself. But then again, there was nothing mentioned about what was in the maze from what he’s read.   
  
Like any other person, the curiosity got the better of him and he still downloaded the game. He had heard people talking about it for a time, whispers here and there. Soon it became non-existent. Like everyone had given up on it.  
  
Hit hit ‘No’ just as Gabriel walked through the doorway of his room.  
  
“Hey Castiel, you want to go get pizza?” Glancing up, he nodded, taking note of the character on the screen looking almost saddened.  
  
  
-  
  
  
 ** _0408 wants to look for a weapon.  
_** ** _Yes or No  
  
  
_** Looking at his screen, the phone was locked but the notification still showed despite him turning those off because he woke up with multiple notifications saying “ **0408 is growing impatient** ”  
  
In all honesty, Castiel has been playing this game for a total of three days. He hasn’t entered the maze, hasn’t looked for a weapon to even start, and he actually was beginning to lose interest.

He swiped away the notification before throwing his phone into his bag. He was supposed to meet Charlie and Hannah for a study session down at the library.  
  
Swinging his satchel over his head and onto his shoulder, he made his way downstairs, and out the door. He felt the vague vibration of his phone through the material, he ignored it as he got on his bike and rode to the library.  
  
It didn’t take long, probably a fifteen-minute ride with no issues. After parking, he made his way inside, keeping his eyes open for his friends.  
  
“Clarence, over here,” a familiar voice called out, followed by multiple “shh’s” across the room.  
  
He smiled, even though he was surprised to see the brunette when he saw the hand waving from there table. Making his way over, he spotted a vaguely familiar figure sitting with Hannah and Meg.  
  
“Castiel, this is Sam. He transferred into our school last week,” Hannah introduced, gesturing towards the man.  
  
‘Sam’ glanced up from his studies, nodding his head in acknowledgment as a long stray piece of hair fell in his face.  
  
He pushed it back as he looked back down at his book.  
  
“He’s shy,” Meg mused, patting his shoulder before shifting in her seat to sit properly.  
  
“Where’s Charlie?” He asked after noticing the three were nowhere to be seen.  
  
“She's running late,” Hannah supplied while pulling out the flashcards.  
  
Nodding, Castiel started unloading his books, his hand brushing his phone as it buzzed. A flash of irritation went through his mind as he grabbed the thing, looking a the screen to see multiple notifications saying:  
  
  
 **“Come Play!”**  
  
  
He figured there was no one going to call him since his family knew where he was and could easily contact Hannah or Meg if it’s an emergency. He held the power button until the network logo flashed before going blank.  
  
“You mad at someone, Clarence?” Meg remarked, noticing the annoyed look on her friend’s face.  
  
“No, just wanted to keep my attention on studying,” he easily lied, giving a small smile to reassure her.  
  
  
-  
  
 **1 New Message  
**  
  
Looking at the number that appeared, Castiel squinted at it, not making a connection to who it could be. He glanced around the restaurant, glad that it was a slow day before swiping open the screen.  
  
He was also grateful that Michael hadn’t come in yet to breathe down his neck about getting work done. Or just to be a pain in general.  
  
  
 ** _Come back!  
  
  
_** Castiel did a double-take. The text didn’t show on his normal message app for the phone.  
  
The background was black, the letters white as little dots appeared that showed that someone was typing.  
  
He had half a mind to block the number, ignore the message since he figured it was a prank or a wrong number.  
  
  
 ** _Please don’t leave me.  
  
  
_** He felt ice in his veins when he read those words.  
  
 _‘Who is this?’_ _  
_  
It’s probably a virus. He told him himself as he waited. The response took not even ten seconds.  
  
  
 ** _0408  
  
  
_** “Castiel you okay?” the concerned voice of Alfie called from the kitchen. He must’ve heard Castiel drop his phone.  
  
When he came out from the back, he saw the wide blue eyes of his friend as he stared down at his dropped phone. It buzzed a few more times.  
  
“I-it’s nothing,” Castiel managed out after regaining his composure. He grabbed his phone and pressed the button on the side, which made the phone turn off.  
  
He didn’t touch it again until he was ready to leave for work.  
  
There was only one new notification.  
  
  
 ** _Save me! Please…_**  
  
  
“This game just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” Castiel said to himself after getting into his car.  
  
He sat there for a moment, staring at his phone screen. What felt like forever, he clicked the app open.  
  
  
 ** _Would you like to have a conversation with your character?_** ** _  
_** ** _Yes or No  
  
  
_** Was the first bubble to pop up, catching Castiel off guard. Wasn’t he “Speaking” to his character earlier.  
  
 ****He hesitated, thumb over the button. He hit yes.  
  
  
 ** _-Hi!  
  
_** _-Hello?  
  
_ ** _-Thank You for playing Escape the Maze_**  
  
 _-You’re welcome?  
  
  
_ Castiel raised a brow at the dynamic shift in the way his character was speaking to him now versus earlier. Even the message board was different. This one was a white background with blue bubbles, like an actual text message.  
  
  
 ** _-I have faith that you and I will get out of this maze together  
  
_** _-What is the maze?  
  
_ ** _-A place filled with creatures and demons created by Lucifer  
  
  
_** Huffing out at the ridiculousness of the context, he responded.  
  
  
 _-How do we start?  
  
_  
The message closed out to display his character in the middle of the room, arms out as if trying to get his attention.  
  
  
 **Would you like to look for a weapon?** **  
** **Yes or No  
  
  
** This time he clicked ‘Yes’.  
  
  
 **0408 found a** **Gold Coin**

 **Your character decided to keep it.**  
  
  
‘Weird’ Castiel thought as he clicked to continue looking.  
  
  
 **0408 found a** **Broken Wooden sword**  
 **Keep or throw away?**  
  
 **0408 found a** **Hammer**  
 **Keep or throw away?**  
  
 **0408 found a** **Gun and Six Bullets**  
 **Your character decided to keep it  
  
  
** Castiel paused. So far he’s kept what he’s found, but that’s the second time his character took it without asking.  
  
  
 **0408 found** **Salt  
** **Keep it or throw away?  
  
  
** Sure, why not? He's kept everything else. He clicked the yes. He tried to search for anything else but a bubble popped up saying there was nothing else to find.  
  
He glanced at his dash to see the time, nearly dropping his phone when he realized it was almost ten.  
  
Clicking the phone off, not seeing the message flashing:  
  
  
 ** _Your character heard a noise…_**  
  
  
-  
  
  
“What are you doing?” Charlie asked, pulling said person from their phone.  
  
Looking up, Castiel noticed everyone at his table was staring at him.  
  
“I-uh- was looking something up for a game,” he said truthfully, clicking out of a chatroom for ‘Escape the Maze’.  
  
“Oh! Which one is it?” Charlie enthused, capping her marker to scoot closer.  
  
“It doesn’t matter, I might delete it,” Pushing his phone into his bag, he pulled his textbook closer to him.  
  
“What kind of game is it?” Hannah inquired, pausing in highlighting something on the paper.  
  
“Some kind of survival game,” was all Cas said, shrugging the topic off by quizzing Charlie on one of the questions.  
  
“I’m not fond of survival games,” Sam’s voice cut in during their momentary pause. Castiel looked over at him, a little surprised he spoke.  
  
This was their second meet up with him and this is the first time he’s said anything.  
  
“It’s a puzzle though,” Castiel clarified, shifting some of the cards so they could go another round.  
  
“I hate puzzles,” Meg murmured under her breath. “I prefer the straight to the point,”  
  
“We know,” everyone except Sam commented. She gave everyone a dirty look before smiling. Everyone else joined in before they set up their next round.  
  
  
-  
  
  
 **Enter the Maze?** **  
** **Yes or No**  
  


He stared down at the bubble. It’s been almost a week of having this game on his phone. He’s searched for all he could on food and weapons...he felt pretty good. He was laying in bed, the sun hadn’t quite made itself known.  
  
He clicked yes.  
  
Watching the character bounce up and down, pausing before turning to the opening and gliding across.  
  
The screen changed to a hallway.  
  
  
 **Your character has reached a fork in the road, left or right?** **  
** **  
**  
‘Left’  
  
This continued on, all was quiet. A couple of dead ends here and there. It became really confusing since there was no map, no indication where the end was. **  
**  
  
 **Your character heard a noise…**  
  
  
Castiel paused. His first creature? A bing alerted him to something happening.  
  
  
 **Your character ran into another player, kill or run?** **  
** **  
  
**He doesn’t know why but his heart stopped. Kill another player? Why would he do that?  
  
  
 **The other Player attacked 0408, run or fight?  
  
  
** ‘Run’  
  
  
 **Unable to flee**  
 **Your character is severely injured, fight, or run?  
  
  
** He tried to hit ‘Run’ again but was met with the same response.  
  
“Fight,” he said to his phone, clicking the button.  
  
  
 **You’ve successfully attacked the other player.  
  
. . .  
  
** **The other player was scared off.  
  
** **Your character is severely injured, go back to their safe haven?  
  
  
** “Where're the herbs he was carrying?” Castiel asked out loud, clicking yes. The screen blanked for a second, the image of his character rising and falling slowly, his health bar really low.  
  
He clicked ‘yes’ when prompted to heal, even clicking for them to have food.  
  
 _‘So this an open world’_ he thought to himself. There was no mention of this!  
  
  
 **1 New Message  
  
  
** He was about to click the box but the screen changed, the somewhat familiar black background with the white words saying:  
  
  
 **-You have gotten me farther than any other person.  
  
  
** Raising a brow at the comment, he was about to respond when another message came through.  
  
  
 **-If you get me out of here, I’ll kiss ya!  
  
  
** He stared at those words for a while. Castiel didn’t know how to respond to that. But he did know what could say,  
  
  
 _-I didn’t know there were other players in the game._  
  
 **-Yes. **** kill them.  
** **  
-****  
** **  
-****!!!!  
  
  
** Raising a brow, he could see that the dots of the character typing but the screen changed to white, the blue bubbles popping up.  
  
  
 **-Gee! That was scary! I’m glad we were able to make it back safely!  
  
  
** It was then that Castiel dropped his phone. Pushing it away with his feet, staring at the thing as if it had grown a head.   
  
His heart nearly stopped when his alarm went off, signaling that he should be getting dressed for work.  
  
He glanced at his phone, relieved that he had the forethought to turn the screen off. Rubbing his temples, he grabbed the cellular device, pocketing it before leaving.  
  
“Hey Castiel,” a familiar voice greeted him right as he walked in.  
  
Doing a double-take, he took in the long brown hair and “puppy” eyes as Meg called them.  
  
“Oh, Sam. Hello,” he replied. “What are you doing here so early?”  
  
The taller man looked from him to the plate in front of him, looking back with a smirk on his face.  
  
Castiel made an “oh” face, shaking head for temporarily forgetting that they opened at 5 am to serve breakfast.  
  
Sam chuckled as Castiel walked by, disappearing into the back and reappearing a moment later.  
  
“Need more coffee?” He asked, gesturing towards the finished cup.  
  
“No, I’m good, thank you.”  
  
Nodding, Castiel turned around to start his shift. Stocking the coffee cups, making a fresh pot, rolling silverware, and so on.  
  
“Did you ever figure out that game of yours?” Sam asked after paying his bill. Castiel paused at the question, squinting down at the cash register as he tried to figure out what Sam meant by ‘Game’.  
  
“Oh, uh...it’s ok. I guess,” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
“You said it was a survival game, did you win?”  
  
“Not yet, it’s gotten a little complicated,” was all he said, remembering that he had placed his phone in his coat pocket that he left in the back. On purpose.  
  
“What? Is it one of those ‘survive on an island’ type of thing?” Sam asked, the corner of his lip lifting up into a small smile.  
  
Shaking his head, Castiel let the man continue guessing. He doesn’t know why, but he just didn’t want to come out and say what this game was about. On one hand, he thought that if he told anyone about a game that was suddenly talking to him like it was a real human being, he might be called crazy. Possibly get dragged to the looney bin.  
  
“It’s a Maze,” He finally said, after Sam kept guessing. Prison, Zombie, Apocalypse, even Call of Duty.  
  
He wasn’t expecting the grim look on the man's face at the revelation.  
  
“A Maze,” it wasn’t a question, just a comment that seemed to have spooked the man. There was fear in his eyes, his mouth moving as if trying to say something.  
  
“Sam?” he asked in concern, noticing his friends' faces morphing into distress.  
  
“Don’t delete the game,” the first words he was able to get out, turning his attention to look around the semi-empty restaurant.  
  
Only a few patrons were here this early. Sam turned back around to lean forward, indicating for Castiel to do the same.  
  
“They’re real,”  
  
Raising a brow, Castiel gave the man a skeptical look.  
  
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Not even sure what he was talking about.  
  
“The game. It’s real,” he whispered between them. Castiel moved back, taking in Sam’s scared expression. “Those characters are real people. The maze is filled with creatures,”  
  
Moving farther back from the man, Castiel officially believed that this man was insane.  
  
“What is this, Maze Runner? It’s fiction,” the only thing he could say. This had to be a joke.  
  
The conversation paused when one of the patrons came up to pay their tab. Sam kept his head down, a fork in hand as he poked at his food.  
  
“Have a good day,” The customer said with a smile, the other two people having gotten up from their seats to leave with him.  
  
Castiel nodded and said the same, waiting for them to leave before continuing his conversation.  
  
Before either one said a word, Sam was reaching up to grab the collar of his shirt, pulling it to the right to reveal a tattoo. There, right at the collar bone was a bold, black inked number.  
  
  
 **0279  
  
  
** Castiel felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs at the sight. The rational part of him thought it could be any random number. With any kind of significance to the man.  
  
But Sam knew the game he was playing and even had a four-digit number.  
  
“It’s real. I know this because I was there.”


	3. Chapter 3

He waited until he was on break to grab his phone, Sam had left not long after their conversation. But Castiel invited him over later, he needed answers.  
  
Is it possible that Sam knew the way out?  
  
But the question now was, who was the person in his game?  
  
He called out to Alfie that he was going out before grabbing his keys to his car.  
  
The only place he believed that he wouldn't be interrupted.  
  
As he got himself comfortable, grateful for it being cool enough outside that he can have his windows down halfway. That way he wasn’t wasting gas by using the air conditioner.  
  
Lifting his phone, he was surprised that there were no new messages or notifications.  
  
When he opened the app, he was surprised to find the little puggy character was in the corner of the room. Usually, he was in the center, bobbing up and down in excitement that he was there.  
  
No bubble came up like it usually did, asking him what he wanted to do.  
  
He clicked the screen.  
  
Nothing.  
  
He doubled tapped.  
  
Nothing.  
  
He clicked the little icon on the bottom right to open the chatroom.  
  
  
 _-Hello?  
  
_ ** _-You’re back! Unfortunately, you are down to one life left.  
  
  
_** Castiel stared in shock. How?! Moving his eyes to the room, the character didn't make any indication that he hadn’t even acknowledged his presence.  
  
  
 ** _-0408 died of starvation. Be careful! When all lives are gone, you will have to start over with another Character._** ** _  
_** ** _What are we going to do today?  
  
  
_** Just then, the bubble with the options for things to do popped up.  
  
  
 _-I want to talk to my character.  
  
_ ** _-Silly, this is 0408! What are we doing today?  
  
  
_** He clicked out of the options window to find ‘0408’ still in the corner, not doing anything.  
  
  
 _-This is just an automated machine. I want to talk to 0408.  
  
_ ** _-You are mistaken, this is 0408. What are we doing today? Please pick an option. The Maze is waiting for our choice.  
  
  
_** This was the second time he felt ice in his veins at the response. The Maze was waiting?  
  
Before he clicked out of the game, he mumbled to himself “I’ll get you out,” and just as he did so, he could swear he saw the character turn its head in his direction.  
  
  
-  
  
  
When he finished his shift he sent a quick text to Sam to let him know he was on his way home.  
  
He received a message five minutes later saying he would be over in an hour.  
  
The drive home felt like it took forever and traffic wasn’t even that bad. It was four in the evening and Castiel had come home to an empty house. After looking around to make sure, he found a note on the fridge saying that Gabriel was out with friends. His parents were with relatives.  
  
He already knew where Michael was, he ran into him before leaving.  
  
His stomach chose that time to make itself known, the craving for pizza was fierce.  
  
Calling in a quick order to his favorite Pizza place, a little Italian restaurant in town, before settling in.  
  
He had just gotten out of the shower when he heard the doorbell. Scrambling, he pulled on his sweats and a loose t-shirt before running downstairs. Underwear be damned at the moment.  
  
“Oh, Sam. Hey,” he greeted, half expecting it to be the Pizza Man.  
  
The taller man smiled, entering the home with his backpack slung over one shoulder.  
  
He barely knew the guy, the air between was awkward as they stood there in front of the door.  
  
“Why don’t we go to the living room, my room is kind of small,” the first thing he could get out.  
  
Sam nodded as he followed the shorter man, dropping his bag by the couch as he sat down.  
  
“So did you try to do anything after I left?” the first question to be asked, causing Castiel to fidget slightly from his standing position.  
  
“I did,” he rubbed a hand down his face when he was met with an expectant look. He told Sam the weird conversation he had which earned him a concerned look.  
  
But when Castiel informed him about suddenly having one life left and the way the character was acting, Sam had looked up with a strange expression.  
  
“I don’t know how many people are in there, but once they lose a life from neglect they start to give up. And once the app is uninstalled, they are stuck with that amount of lives.”  
  
Castiel could feel his heart drop at the comment.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“When I was-” he cut himself off, shaking his head and looking down. “When I was there, after a certain amount of days that would tick by, I figured the person playing had, or was, giving up. I only had one life left. The ones I had before uninstalled the game before I lost a life...I got real lucky,”  
  
“So...so you’ve been there…” Castiel trailed off, dread and the thought of someone being trapped in a place like that. “How old were you when you…”  
  
“I was fourteen then. I got out a couple of months ago. I’m twenty-two now,” Sam answered his voice flat, cold and with no emotion.  
  
Castiel couldn’t breathe. He was in shock.  
  
The sound of the doorbell caused the two to jump, snapping them out of the moment.  
  
After placing the two boxes of pizza on the kitchen counter, Castiel ran upstairs to grab his phone. He had no new notification.  
  
Another sign that his character was losing hope, as Sam informed him.  
  
“You were there, how did you get out?” Castiel asked after taking a bite of his pizza, pulling the stack of paper he grabbed and markers to figure this all out.  
  
“The girl, who was playing, figured it out within a couple of days. But that’s not the problem,”  
  
 _‘How much worse can this get?’_ Castiel thought, already feeling on edge with this whole thing.  
  
“The Maze changes. My second go-round, I thought I had a good understanding of what way was right, it changed.”  
  
“How many chose you to play?” he was reluctant to ask, he was still reeling from the fact that Sam had been missing for so long!  
  
“Thirty-four,”  
  
Castiel’s heart felt like it had stopped, the ringing in his ears at the number.  
  
Thirty-three people gave up.  
  
Thirty-three put Sam through Hell with this so-called ‘game’.  
  
There was a long pause between them. Castiel sitting on the floor at the coffee table, all appetite lost.  
  
Sam on the other hand ate with gusto.  
  
“Have you run into any creatures yet?” the pulling Castiel from his thoughts.  
  
“No, so far, I've only run into another player.”  
  
“That means you didn't get very far. The farther in you go, the creatures start appearing,”  
  
Castiel internally wanted this whole thing to go away. His rational side kept saying this was all a hoax. But the other half was saying he needed to save this person.  
  
“Tell me everything,”  
  
  
-  
  
  
He opened the app, none of the prompts appeared like they usually did, but the character was right where he was earlier.  
  
“Try tapping on him,” Sam suggested, watching from over Castiel’s shoulder.  
  
He tried just that.  
  
Nothing.  
  
“Again,” Sam encouraged.  
  
He tried, nothing. So without prompting, he tried again two more times until the character started hopping up and down from its spot. Then walked into the middle of the screen. Their tiny arms waving up and down.  
  
“They look irritated,” Castiel remarked, watching the prompt appear. “You ready?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at Sam who had a pen and piece of paper in his lap.  
  
They had collaborated together, Sam telling Castiel all the things he had when he went through. Luckily, he had gotten all of that before this, weapons and herbs. Sam was going to write down their path just in case they had to restart.  
  
“But I couldn’t bring any of the medicine with me,” Castiel commented.  
  
“That’s because the maze doesn’t want you to. You have to complete it in one go without healing.”  
  
Which was a lot of pressure.  
  
Sam nodded, his pen ready when Castiel clicked ‘Enter the Maze’  
  
Heart hammering in his chest, he clicked ‘Right’, calling out the direction to Sam.  
  
  
 **Your character heard a noise…  
  
  
** He wasn’t even a minute in!  
  
“Can you hide?” Sam asked, leaning over Castiel’s shoulder when the message came up.  
  
Turning his head, eyebrow raised, Castiel replied, “I was never given the option.”  
  
  
 **The sound of footsteps are getting closer, run, or stay?** **  
**  
  
“Run of course,”  
 **  
  
** **Too late, your character ran into another player, kill or run?** **  
**  
  
“Run!” Castiel said irritatedly.  
  
  
 **The other Player attacked 0408, run or fight?  
  
  
** “Fight them,” Sam commented, surprising Castiel enough to where he turned to look at the man.  
  
There was regret written on his face as he continued.  
  
“It’s the only way to continue,” his voice hollowed. The disturbing thought of Sam having to do the same sent chills down his spine.  
  
He clicked Fight. Choosing the Broken Wooden Sword, maybe he could hurt the character enough to get them to flee.  
 **  
  
Your character scared off the other player! Congrats! Continue on?**  
  
  
With what felt like a rock in his stomach, he pressed yes.  
  
Straight, Left, Left, and straight again.  
  
  
 **Dead End!** **  
** **  
** **Your character heard a noise…**  
  
  
Another character Castiel was forced to fight.  
  
  
 **Character 0408’s health is at 75%  
**  
  
Both of them cursed under their breath.  
  
As they continued on, they ran into three more players, which dropped 0408’s health to 60%.  
  
  
 **Do you wish to return to the start?  
  
  
** The question took Castiel by surprise.  
  
“That’s good!” Sam’s enthusiasm startled him. “It’s gonna get harder from here, but you’re about to enter the area with the creatures.”  
  
“I fail to see how this is good,”  
  
“You’re not halfway there, but you are in the home stretch,”  
  
“Again, I fail to see how this is good,” he repeated, clicking ‘yes’ to proceed.  
  
  
 ** _Your character heard a growl…_**  
  
  
He felt a cold pang of fear, clicking the option to ‘Step Lightly’.  
  
“If it’s a ghost, use the salt. It’ll make it disappear. Anything else, shoot it,” Sam informed.  
  
Nodding, more for himself, he clicked straight.  
  
  
 ** _Your character ran into a Vampire! Run or Fight?  
  
  
_** “Crap,” he heard Sam mutter. “Use the broken sword, staking him through the heart will slow them down,”  
  
Castiel nodded at the instructions, hitting ‘Fight’ and ‘Broken Wooden Sword’  
  
  
 ** _The Vampire almost bit 0408! Run or Fight?  
  
  
_** Clicking the same options again, the two were able to breath when the words ‘Vampire is incapacitated’   
  
  
**-Character 0408 lost Broken Wooden Sword-  
  
  
** “We should be ok. And look, you didn’t lose any health,” Sam remarked, pointing out the bright side.  
  
Right, Left, A Werewolf, Left, Right, Left...Dead end.  
  
  
 **A Ghost has appeared!**  
  
  
“This is nerve-wracking,” Castiel stressed out, clicking the option to throw salt at the thing and running straight.  
  
  
 **Character 0408’s health is at 35%  
  
  
** Straight, Left  
  
  
 ** _A Leviathan Appeared_**

 **Character 0408’s health is at 29%  
  
  
** Right, Straight  
  
  
 ** _A Ghoul Appeared_**

 **Character 0408’s health is at 10%** **  
** **  
**  
Right, Right, Left, Right-  
  
  
 ** _A Dragon waits for you at the door._**  
  
  
“Give it the Gold Coin,” Sam advised quickly, having found himself hovering over Castiel in anticipation. “You’re at the end,” He breathed out.  
  
After hitting the option to “Bribe” the Dragon, the screen went blank.  
  
“Wh-what?” Castiel squeaked out, nearly dropping his phone.  
  
“Hold on,” Sam urged, hand on Castiel’s shoulder as they both stared in anticipation.  
  
 **  
T-Minus 10:00 minutes  
** **  
09:59  
** **  
09:58**  
  
  
Castiel stared in confusion when a map pulled up with a red pin. Looking at it closely, it was placed just outside of town.  
  
“Let’s go,” was the last thing he heard Sam say before getting up abruptly. Castiel didn’t question, just obediently followed. At Least he had the forethought to grab his keys. His bike wouldn’t fit both of them.  
  
“That’s the location of where they’re at,” Sam answered after the car was started and they were on the road.  
  
Everything was quiet. The weight of the situation weighed heavily on both of them.  
  
“Hey Sam,” Castiel paused, waiting for Sam to acknowledge. “Where did you come out of?”  
  
“Oregon,” Sam answered, keeping his attention on the phone. “I grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.”  
  
“Do you think…” he trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts. “I downloaded the game here, in Nebraska, what if you’re transported to the next person to download the game?”  
  
Sam was quiet. Castiel glanced at him from the corner of his eye.  
  
“I was taken in the middle of the night and when I woke up, I was in this tiny room. It’s highly possible that...a giant murderous maze...is beneath us…” he trailed off, both of them silenced by the possibility.  
  
“Like Hell,” Castiel commented offhandedly, not wanting any of this to be true. It was filled with “Lucifer’s” Creatures.  
  
“The GPS says will be there in five more minutes,”  
  
“What happens if we don’t make it?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. Ears open for Sam to tell him where to go.  
  
“I don’t know. Eileen, the girl who got me, she got there with thirty-seconds to spare. But I can tell you this, I was exhausted, dehydrated, and starving.”  
  
_‘They might die’_ Castiel thought.  
  
“There!” Sam called out, pointing ahead of them, the sound startling Castiel. Squinting ahead of them, there was a dark, blurry figure in the distance walking through the field to their left.  
  
Looking at the clock, they had a minute on the clock.  
  
“That’s awesome,” Sam breathed out as Castiel came to a stop. Putting the car in park just before they exited the car.  
  
They started in the direction of the person.  
  
“Oh-oh my god,” Sam stuttered out, Castiel looking to his companion in confusion. “It’s Dean!”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“My brother,” Was all Castiel got out before the man ran forward. His long legs reaching the other in no time. He watched as the man, ‘Dean’ reaching out for Sam, the two were looking at one another before embracing.

  
Castiel paused at the display.   
  
He felt warmth, a touch of happiness, and relief. Somehow having reconnected these two seemed like destiny.   
  
Sam told him during one of their study sessions that he moved to Nebraska because he had needed a different change in scenery. Where he lived brought back too many memories. That his mother died years ago after his disappearance. His father is a drunk. Enough said.   
  
As for his brother, he wasn’t able to track him down.   
  
“Castiel,” his name being called brought him back to the matter at hand. Sam was helping his brother towards him.   
  
‘Dean’ was covered in dirt and blood, but those green eyes shined bright when they landed on him.   
  
“My Hero,” he said, stopping just short of Castiel. He didn’t know what to do, staring in disbelief that an actual person was standing right here. The one he had been controlling this whole time.   
  
“I-uhm-Castiel,” he said incoherently, putting a hand out to shake.   
  
Dean looked down at the hand, to his brother with a smile, then back.   
  
Castiel jumped when Dean smacked his hand away, instead, he stepped forward into his personal space, closing the distance with a kiss.   
  
His eyes closed automatically, lips soft against his.   
  
“Dude!” Sam’s voice broke the moment, Dean pulling away with a small smile.   
  
“I told you. If you get me out of there, I’ll kiss ya!” he answered before leaning in for another one. Castiel not minding at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At what point did you realize it was Dean within the Maze? Just curious :D leave your guesses in the comments


End file.
